College data glossary: what the numbers mean
Our college and compare pages use the same official numbers: NIRF ranks, JoSAA seats and cutoffs, fees, placements, faculty and research. This page explains each one once, in plain words, so you can read any college page with confidence.
NIRF rank
NIRF is the Ministry of Education's yearly ranking. It scores teaching, research, graduate outcomes, outreach and perception. A gap of one or two places between top institutes is small; look at the parts that matter to you, such as placements or research.
We show the Overall and Engineering ranks with the NIRF year. An institute missing from a list was not ranked in it that year.
How seats are counted
Seats are the total for each branch across all categories, including female-supernumerary seats, from the JoSAA seat matrix. More seats in a branch usually means a wider range of closing ranks, so your chances can be better in a branch with more seats.
Opening and closing rank
The opening rank is the best rank admitted in that category, and the closing rank is the last rank admitted in the final round. Your JEE (Advanced) category rank must be at or better than the closing rank to have had a seat that year. Cutoffs move every year, so look at the trend over three years, not one number. Female-only seats are supernumerary seats for female candidates; PwD ranks are separate lists.
On our pages, the trend tables show the OPEN category, gender-neutral seats, All India quota, final round. The full table lets you filter by category, seat pool and year.
Fees and fee waivers
Tuition is the main fee, but the first-semester bill also includes one-time and hostel charges. Fee waivers are set by the government: SC, ST and PwD students pay no tuition at IITs, and students from lower-income families pay reduced or no tuition. Check the latest fee notice for the exact income limits.
Median salary and placement numbers
The median salary is the middle value: half of the placed students earned more and half earned less. It is a fairer guide than the "highest package", which only one student gets. Compare it with the number placed out of those who graduated, and remember that many students choose higher studies instead.
"Placed / graduated" is the number of 4-year UG students placed out of those who graduated that year, as the institute reported to NIRF. Students who went for higher studies are counted separately.
Faculty and PhD students
More faculty and PhD students usually means more electives, more research projects open to undergraduates and smaller classes in advanced courses. The faculty number here is what the institute reported to NIRF.
"PhD students per faculty member" is worked out by dividing the two NIRF figures for the same year.
Sponsored research and consultancy
Sponsored research is money given by government and industry for research projects in that year. Consultancy is paid work done for industry. Higher figures mean more projects, labs and chances for students to work on real problems.
M.Tech admission
M.Tech admissions at IITs use GATE scores through COAP and the institute's own process. Cutoffs are set by each department and are published only by some institutes in some years.
Data years and how we compare
Every number on a college page links to its official source and shows its data year, for example "2023-24" for NIRF placement data or "JoSAA 2026" for seats. Different sources publish on different cycles, so one page can mix years.
When a page says an institute is "highest" or "in the top third", we compare it only with institutes of the same type that report the same figure for the same year, and only when at least five do. Nothing is estimated or filled in.
Report an error
If a number does not match its official source, tell us through the contact page. Mention the page and the number, and we will check it against the official source and correct it.